One by One
by namichan89
Summary: Raven cannot stand Charles and Erik bantering around each other any more and tries herself as a matchmaker. How will Charles handle her attempt? How will the rest of the mansion's inhabitants react? Set during XFC, slash in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**One by one**

**A few things are a given for this story, and I'll explain it briefly. This will be a multi-chapter-fic; I don't know how many chapters it'll be in the end, because this is one of the stories I don't have a clear idea about. I'll just start writing and see where the characters I borrow from this wonderful movie take me. **

**Of course, it'll be a CharlesXErik-fic (are there others? :X) and it's set during First Class. Basically everything happens at Charles' mansion, so the „training week" is not a week, but a few months. Story is rated T for now, may go up to M in the future.**

**Also, I tried to write a not-so-serious story, there are enough angsty Cherik-stories out there.**

**That being said, here go the usual disclaimers: MaleXMale-pairing, some fluffy, slashy stuff and mild sexual content. Don't like, don't read. I own nothing except the idea for this story. Enjoy!**

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><p>Raven suppressed the urge to shake her head and roll her eyes theatrically. Instead, she went with a short, inconspicuous sigh.<p>

How could Charles be any more obvious and still not come to terms?

She surely wasn't blind and neither were the boys. Erik apparently was, though.

Raven even knew that there was a bet going on between Sean and Alex – on how long it took for Charles or Erik to confess. And, if that was possible to get to know – who of the two made the first step. She took a glance at the boys, noticing that they just shared a meaningful look before focusing back on Erik and Charles.

The two oldest mutants sat side by side at the dining table and argued about tomorrow's training program.

„If we'll take them out at 6 o'clock, you know how demotivated and lazy they're gonna be. You can't work with them that early," Charles was just saying, sounding as worried and concerned as any mother would have been about her kids.

„Oh, come on, they're not kids any more. Early bird catches the worm and it wouldn't be amiss for them," Erik opposed before finishing the last bit of his fried potatoes, shooting Charles a glare from the corner of his eyes.

Charles rolled his eyes and turned at Sean and Alex, who immediately avoided his gaze by looking down on their plates. Raven tried hard to suppress a chuckle at the all-too-guilty looking boys.

„Fine, 6 o'clock it is, then," the telepath stated. After earning a collective 'meeh' from the younger mutants, he just turned to Erik to give him another sideways glare.

„Come on, you heard what daddy said," Raven interrupted them, grinning at Sean and Alex mischievously.

„Excuse me?" Charles asked her, confused but also very amused.

The shapeshifter gave him a gleaming smile. „If you two don't sound like an old married couple, well..." She left the sentence unfinished and got to her feet, intending to place her empty plate in the sink.

All she heard on her way was Erik's laughter, which he tried to dub with a cough, and Charles' mumbled, incoherent explanations. He eventually gave up. Raven still smirked to herself and silently hoped that Charles was really not poking around in her head. But Charles was a man who kept his word, and he had never broken that one before.

_But maybe, just maybe, it would be better for him to break it_, she pondered, her smile fading away.

Filling the sink with hot water and washing-up liquid while the other ones placed their plates beside it – she was on schedule to do the dishes today – Raven took a short look at her brother and Erik from the corner of her eyes. Suppressing another sigh, she remembered the day Charles had introduced Erik to her.

No matter how much she had hoped to that point that Charles would ever see more in her than just his sister, in the very moment she saw his eyes flicker to Erik for the first time – in that very moment, she knew she had lost whatever game she told herself she was playing. Raven had never seen Charles that excited, that flustered, had never seen his eyes sparkling so much in the presence of anyone else like that before. The tension between them couldn't be any clearer. Charles downright radiated with every little look Erik gave him.

And it hadn't changed a bit since then.

Raven knew Charles, she even dared to say she knew him best of all the people in the mansion, and if anything had happened between him and Erik, she would've noticed. But she was pretty sure that there hadn't. It was sad in her opinion, because Charles deserved being happy - so much. Of course there had been girlfriends before, but it never was anything serious. She had also never seen a chemistry like the one between him and Erik before.

And then there was Erik. Erik, who was for once cautious and strong and would never admit to any weakness of his whatsoever. But if Raven had learned anything about him in the brief time they knew each other, then it was that he had a weakness for Charles. He could be harsh, and he had been harsh to Charles as well before, but there was always something different about the way he talked to the telepath. And not only because they were friends.

Raven couldn't blame Charles, anyway. She couldn't deny that Erik was in fact a very handsome man, and if there wasn't someone else, she really would've thought about-

A hand was placed at her waist, softly running along her back, just a brief touch, but enough to make her smile. Hank took the dishtowel from her hands to help her dry the plates.

„Thanks," she smiled gratefully at the scientist. If the others hadn't still been in the room, the shapeshifter would've given him a short kiss, but they both still were pretty shy about openly affectionate behavior like this. Alex and Sean, although she liked both of them by now, could be pretty mean. They didn't need to feed the trolls.

The small touch of Hank's hand on her back hadn't been unnoticed, though, and luckily – for them – Raven only heard the boys leave the room, giggling. Anyway, there was no way she would let herself get these moments ruined by two pubescent and probably jealous boys. She felt far too happy for that.

Which brought her thoughts back to Charles. If he just for once broke his promise – which he wouldn't – he would clearly see what she thought about him and Erik. He would clearly see in Erik's mind how the metalbender thought about him. Not that Erik had ever told her, but it didn't even need much female intuition to see what was up with them.

And if Charles just gave that a chance, he could experience what it meant to be in love, and have those feelings reciprocated. He could be happy.

Not that he didn't look happy with the way things were now – Raven took a look over her shoulder to find Charles and Erik stand in front of the wine rack, discussing about today's alcoholic beverage, both with a wide smile on their faces – but she knew that he sometimes needed a good old kick up the bum to see the potential he was wasting.

Finishing their work with the dishes, Raven placed a short peck on Hank's lips before turning around to her brother.

„Charles, I'd like to take a short evening walk. Would you mind to join me?"

The telepath seemed a bit confused at first, but eventually nodded. Looking back at Erik, he excused himself. „Will you wait for me in the library?"

„Won't take long," Raven added, grinning at Erik. He seemed just equally confused.

„Sure, take your time," the tall man answered, more to Charles than to Raven. She hadn't expected otherwise.

As they had left for the gardens, the shapeshifter quietly explained to Charles: „I wanted to talk to you."

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><p><strong>Sooo... what do you think so far? Raven's trying her luck as a matchmaker. Hell, I would do so if I was her. Let's see what she achieves ;) Next chapter will be mostly dialogue, as you would've guessed, but I think I won't get it finished and online until... well, in a week or so. I'm off for the biggest Metal-Festival in Europe, the Wacken Open Air, and I'm hyped as hell! :D But don't worry, Charles and Erik won't leave my mind anytime soon.<strong>

**In the meantime, feel free to check out my other Cherik-stories :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**It's easy to write angsty fics about Charles and (by god, especially) Erik, and a well-told sad love story is truly amazing and moving – and I've read quite a few very good ones of that kind lately – but I just can't stand it for too long. I want those two to be happy and together, I want them to have fun, so I am afraid that this will get a bit cheesy.**

**But I don't want to write dark and heavy stories; I want you to have fun while reading this, I want you to crack a smile at the words I put in the mouths of those characters, and I want to see what you thought about it. So please leave a review, if you got a few spare moments. Every single notification e-mail of any kind makes me grin widely, believe me.**

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><p>„I wanted to talk to you," Raven explained as they stepped into the gardens.<p>

„Really? I never would have thought that when you're taking me out for a walk in the evening."

„Oh, keep your sarcasm, Charles," she replied, grinning while she poked him in the side. „I know I'm holding you off Erik and your game of chess, sorry about that."

Charles shook his head slightly, mumbling: „No problem." But he sounded suspiciously caught.

With a few more steps, they turned around the corner of the house, following the gravel walk around the mansion. Raven fell silent for a while, pondering about her next words. She needed to be subtle, but also point out to Charles that she knew what was going on, which was kind of hard to handle.

Luckily, Charles unintentionally helped her. „So, how long have you and Hank been seeing each other, then? I think you didn't tell me about that yet," he asked to break the silence between them.

„Only a week, that's why I didn't say anything, but it's just..." Raven searched for an accurate word, „- wonderful, amazing, it just feels so right."

She couldn't suppress a wide smile appearing on her face as she looked towards her brother. Charles raised an eyebrow, but his lips were pressed together slightly – she knew him far too well to not notice.

„As long as you're happy," Charles answered. „And Hank is a great guy, so you have my blessing."

„Oh, thank you, big brother," she teased, still smiling at him. „And yes, I'm very happy. You know..."

The telepath's eyes found hers in the twilight, and she noticed that the eyebrow was risen even higher on his forehead.

She cleared her throat. „You know, being in love and being loved by someone truly is the best feeling you can ever experience. You should give it a try some time, you know."

Charles turned away and sighed annoyed. „I have no time for something like this. Don't misunderstand me, I'm very happy for you, but - there are so much things to do. Building this school for gifted children, teaching them, and not at last prepare for the day the people all around the world have to get used to the idea of mutants living among them."

Raven just watched silently as he turned around and looked at her. „Love is complicated, it always is and it always will be. I'll save that trouble for later. Right now, I've got more important things to do."

„You're missing out on so much, Charles, and you don't even know it," she answered sadly.

„Maybe so, but even if I wanted to, who should this even be possible with? There's no woman there in my life, and you know that."

The shapeshifter shrugged her shoulders. „Maybe you don't need to look too far. Just keep your eyes peeled and give it a chance if someone comes along."

Charles gave her an irritated look.

„No, I don't mean myself, for obvious reasons. I'm saying that you always think of others, Charles, all day and night. You think of the children and their training, of your school, of integrating mutants into society. But where is your personal luck? A happy man has a way more persuasive charisma, a stronger appearance. A loved man is a happy man. If you thought of yourself for once, maybe you will be surprised what will come out of it."

Her brother still eyed her with the same, irritated and tensed look, biting his lower lip as he obviously pondered about her words.

„Charles, you're my brother and you're very dear to me. I want to see you happy, but you're standing in your own way," she softly added.

Suddenly, Charles stopped his steps. Raven turned around to watch him surprised. She had gone too far. Their eyes locked, but she held the gaze. After a few long moments, the telepath asked her quietly: „How much do you really know?"

„Enough. I know you, no need to say more," she answered, giving him an encouraging smile in order to ease the tension.

The professor sighed and proceeded to walk down the path. He rubbed his eyes with his left hand. „Is it that obvious?"

Raven cocked her head, smiling amused. „Very much so."

„Dear god," the man answered, clearly embarrassed. Silence spread between them as Charles looked up into the starlit sky.

„And you don't condemn me for... that?" he asked after a while, a slight tremble in his voice.

„Why should I? That's the reason I wanted to talk to you," she stopped and placed her hand on Charles' shoulder, stroking it softly. „... to tell you that it's okay. To encourage you to give it a chance. As I said, you might be surprised. Good night, Charles, and think about it. Be selfish, for once."

With this, she turned around and left Charles standing in the front yard. If this hadn't been a good old kick up the bum then she didn't know what else was. Or what else Charles needed to finally tell Erik how he felt.

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><p>Charles looked up into the sky once again, admiring the perfect shape of the half moon that stood there. So Raven had noticed. Well, he wasn't very cautious concerning his behaviour towards Erik at all, meaning that it could often be considered as flirtatious.<p>

But he couldn't help it, he just enjoyed these little banters between them. Looks had been exchanged, a bit too intense, and smiles, a bit too deep, and touches, a bit too long. And whenever something like this happened, Charles felt his heart race and he tried to calm himself down.

_I can't. He won't. We wouldn't. _It was his mantra, and he kept telling it to himself over and over.

How could he expect Erik to ever reciprocate his feelings? There was no way that they could ever be together as more than friends. And because of that, he had accepted the fact and at least tried to enjoy their friendship.

Charles looked at the moon again and raised his hand. At this angle, he could grab it with this thumb and index finger, could attempt to touch it and hold it, and yet, when he closed his fingers, they stayed empty. Erik was like the moon, so near and yet so far away. Which reminded Charles of just how romantic he really was, and how Erik would never be. He wasn't the type for something like that.

„Charles!" a voice shouted from the mansion, which almost made him jump from astonishment and he suddenly also heard the crunching sound of gravel. And if that was even possible, his heart was beating even faster as he turned around and spotted Erik. The metalbender slowly walked towards him, both hands buried in his pockets.

„Yes?"

„Raven went to her room and I thought you might appreciate some company out here," Erik answered, smiling. „Do you mind?"

„No, no... not at all," Charles mumbled, shaking his head.

In fact, Charles felt way to confused to even look at his friend right now, and he thoroughly avoided the other one's gaze. The taller man quickly stood beside him, looking up at the moon as he had just done before.

„It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

The deep timbre of Erik's voice made him shiver, even without looking at him. His presence was enough to make Charles incredibly flustered.

„Yes, it is," he answered quietly, raising his head again as well. And despite all of his intentions, he took a short sideways glare at Erik. The way he stood there in the moonlight, his lips curled up into a wonderful smile, tall and strong and manly. He was nothing like any woman Charles had ever been interested in. There was nothing fragile about him, nothing that would awaken his protective instinct. And yet, he felt so torn towards this man.

Right then, he realized how romantic this moment truly was, and a soft, but also bitter chuckle escaped him. It would be, if Erik was a woman.

Raven's words rang in his ears. _Be selfish, for once_. He should tell Erik? Look and him and tell him that he was in love with him?

_I can't._

Charles looked at Erik, and their eyes met. The telepath literally felt his heart skip a beat. _Tell him..._

„Erik, I... uhm..." he stuttered, at loss for words, trying to find anything that would describe his feelings accurately. For a few moments, he wordlessly stared at the beautiful man in front of him and finally closed his mouth again. He surrendered. Embarrassed, he looked down on the floor, kicking a few stones around with his foot. Heat spread across his cheeks.

_He won't._

Suddenly, a strong hand padded his back. „Chess and wine, my friend?" Erik asked, and he didn't sound confused at all at Charles' attempt to tell him something he didn't finish.

„Yes, I'd love to," the telepath answered quickly and turned around, all the while feeling Erik's hand on the small of his back.

_We wouldn't._

When he set one foot in front of the other in order to get to the mansion, away from Erik, from his deep, seductive voice, from his sparkling green eyes, from his radiating charisma, he felt a burning sensation where Erik had touched him.

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><p><strong>Okay, this was not so funny as I'd like it to be, but at least a bit cheesy. I hope you didn't mind? Charles is suffering a lot, poor fella.<strong>

**Btw, the festival was awesome. I'll try to get the third chapter out within this week, because I'll be off to another metal festival next week. And then I'll end there as I ended at the one last week: constantly thinking about what I can do to Charles and Erik. :3**

**Thanks for reading! What do you think? I'm not sure if I should do an Erik's POV chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**You wanted an Erik's POV chapter, so here you go. Prepare for sexual innuendo.**

**And btw, I read a few reviews for my very first fanfic (which was posted over a year ago) again, and noticed that there were in fact people complimenting me for my rather decent english (I'm german, therefore no native speaker) – but when I took a look at the story, I'd either wanted to sink into the ground or rewrite the whole thing. My spelling and grammar are absolutely terrible at several points, which is very embarrassing. So if you read this story or any other of my Cherik ones, I'd like to know what you think of my english :) Keep that in mind while reading, and now: Have fun!**

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><p>That stupid little hair strand was driving Erik insane.<p>

After they had made their way back into the mansion and sat down for a glass of wine and a game of chess, there suddenly was that little hair strand on Charles' forehead. He must have run his hand through his hair or something, and then this short, wavy strand had fallen into his face. Now it was constantly teasing Erik, just begging to be brushed back behind Charles' ear.

Not that it wasn't already hard enough to keep his hands off Charles.

And once again, he quietly thanked god that Charles had promised to never read his mind and that Charles was true to his words. Otherwise, if he would ever see some very special thoughts that were circling through Erik's mind, he would react...

Well, how would he react?

Most likely ashamed and embarrassed.

Erik's eyes roamed over Charles' body as the latter bent forward to study the chess board. Fluffy brown hair, that obnoxious hair strand, perfect skin, beautiful full lips, even more beautiful blue eyes, a slender torso and narrow hips, and he definitely knew of some toned muscles underneath that shirt and trousers.

He sighed silently. It was no surprise to him that fantasies about Charles bugged him frequently. He had come to terms with it, which had been necessary as they spent most of their time with each other anyway.

_Charles kneeling before him, with Erik's hand buried into that wonderful brown hair._

_That pair of intense blue eyes closed in pleasure as Charles' lips parted for a blissful moan._

_A soft grasp for air when Erik let his hands run down his chest and belly, further down..._

Erik breathed in and out deeply in order to calm down. This was not the time or the place for daydreaming. But right now, all he wanted to do was touch Charles, and not even in a sexual way. There was still that stupid little hair strand that was almost falling into Charles' eyes, teasing Erik with the fact that it would be a perfectly reasonable excuse for touching him. Erik felt his index finger twitch, but no – he wouldn't. It was stupid, it would look stupid, and he would confuse the hell out of his friend.

Even if he didn't mind, what would he think of this move by Erik? Probably that he was mistaking him for a woman that he could twist around his finger easily.

After all, they were friends. Very good ones, but still friends. Erik had sworn to himself years ago that he would never live in a committed relationship again. Someone always ended up getting hurt, one way or another. He had more urgent goals in life anyway, particularly hunting down Shaw. He wouldn't draw anyone else emotionally into this. He didn't want anyone to bother for his safety.

Especially not Charles.

Yet, the other mutant sat in front of him, gorgeous and attractive, and he couldn't look away from him. Slowly, the telepath rose his head again, and their eyes locked.

„Your turn," Charles said, smiling at him.

Erik didn't need to focus much on the chess board, though. Charles lacked so much concentration today that the metalbender had won all of their three matches so far easily – which was very unusual. Seemingly, Charles' mind had been drifting off as much as his had done. He moved his pawn one field forward and sat back again, watching Charles anticipated.

Sometimes, Erik really wished to be a telepath, so he could eavesdrop on Charles. Only on Charles. They often understood each other without words or simple gestures, but sometimes, Charles' behavior towards him was... interesting, to say the least. Particularly when he wasn't too sober any more. That was the time when Charles quickly became very affectionate.

One evening they had left the library at an unusual late time and after consuming an unusual high amount of whiskey, swaying down the hallway with their arms supportingly wrapped around each other's waist. When Erik had stopped for Charles' door, the latter had stumbled over his own feet, but before he could fall, Erik quickly had caught him. In their drunk state, Charles had fallen backwards, against the closed door, while Erik was towering in front of him. The telepath had been ridiculously close, and the tension between them had been incredible. Erik had never found himself so close to kissing his friend and in hindsight, the moment would have been perfect. But he had just stared at Charles wordlessly and had tried his best to hold his composure and didn't take advantage of the moment. Charles had been staring at him as well, and he had licked his slightly parted lips, which almost had made the metalbender surrender. After a few very hard moments, Charles had excused himself and quickly went to his room. Erik had taken a very deep sigh.

But even without alcohol, Erik remembered plenty of moments where they just had looked into each other's eyes for a bit longer than necessary, followed by a bright smile on both sides. When Charles was there, Erik was able to forget about the world around them. About Shaw, about the Cold War, about his past. There was only Charles and him, and the world was perfect.

Quickly, Erik reminded himself once again that he would not get emotionally involved in any relationship. He cared too much for Charles to ruin their existing friendship.

But Charles could be confusing as well. Sometimes, he managed to smile so lovingly at Erik that the latter literally felt his heart skip a beat. When sparkling blue eyes locked with his, he felt himself shiver at the intensity. Plus, Charles often threw out sentences that were downright salacious – and the worst part was, that last one definitely had to be on purpose. And Erik caught himself frequently reacting to them. Again and again, Charles managed to raise his hopes, but...

Erik was pretty sure that he overestimated Charles' smiles, and little touches, and 'meaningful' gazes. At least, that was what he told himself. It couldn't be true. How should it? They were both men, for christ's sake. Erik was positive that this was only bantering between friends and he misinterpreted it completely. It couldn't be any different.

And yet again, as Charles looked up from the board and directly at him, Erik felt his stomach tingle.

„I don't think it's a good day for chess, my friend," Charles sighed, smiling while leaning back into his chair.

„It took you four games to realize that?" Erik grinned widely.

„Well, yes..." the telepath looked away and outside the window. „Anyway, it's late, so we should both get to bed."

Erik surely could have told him whose bed he should be waiting in. But he skipped the commentary that was already on the tip of his tongue and followed Charles silently out of the library.

When they reached Charles' door, the latter turned around to face his friend. „Good night and sleep tight," he said softly.

„You too," Erik answered. „But... Charles?"

„Yes?"

„What's up with you? Something bothers you. I've never seen you playing chess like that."

„Well, I'm just thinking about a lot of things..." Charles shrugged his shoulders. He obviously didn't want to tell and smiled apologetically.

„Don't think too hard and get some sleep," Erik said quietly, winking at his friend.

After Charles nodded and turned around, the metalbender felt his hand twitch. He hadn't done it. He still overlooked it. But it... now, here, in the empty hallway, who would care?

With a few, long steps, Erik closed the distance between them and eventually stood right in front of Charles, precluding him from entering his room.

„Don't be startled, let me just-" Erik left the sentence unfinished and raised his hand to brush it softly along the smaller man's forehead, shoving that little strand of hair back behind Charles' ear. He had done it. He had finally been able to let his hand run through the other one's hair. Since how long had he wished for this?

Looking back at Charles, he found the telepath's cheeks flushed slightly, colored with a very adorable blush.

„You know, I have a mirror in there. I could've just brushed my hair inside," Charles coughed.

„That's not the point," Erik answered with a wide smile, turned around and went to his room.

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><p><strong>Okay, so far for Erik's POV. What do you think?<strong>

**I would be very happy for a review, and if you do, please leave me a sentence concerning my english. Help improve future stories! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**First things first: Thank you all so very much for reading! :D I also want to thank everyone who reviewed or favorited or subscribed to this story, I'm really happy about all the response I get from you! It's a joy to write for you, guys :)**

**And I have good news for you: We are still far from the end of this story. Now that everybody's POV is clear – Charles loves Erik and doesn't dare to tell him, while Erik wants Charles but is too afraid to commit to his feelings – let's see what the two make of this.**

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><p>Charles watched confused as Erik crossed the hallway and entered his room, not without looking back at him for a last time. A small smile appeared on Erik's face before he closed the door behind himself.<p>

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Charles turned around and went to his own room. He let himself fall onto the bed and covered his face in both hands.

What the hell, Erik.

What the bloody hell, indeed.

Erik confused him, more than he had ever thought of being possible. He confused him to the point where he felt like being a pubescent teenager again. How could such a little move, just brushing his hair back, leave him so utterly flustered and nervous? Charles sighed deeply in order to calm down his tingling stomach that felt like being filled with butterflies. It was driving him crazy. Erik was driving him crazy.

But it had been wonderful, being that close to the other one, feeling his fingertips, soft and tender, on his skin... And was it really just this? Or more?

Was there in the end a chance for them? For being with Erik as more than just friends?

_Give it a chance if someone comes along. You might be surprised what will come out of it. _Raven's words still reverberated in his head, taunting him frequently. It had been hard enough to sit opposite Erik while playing chess, trying to hold his composure. He had been torn between standing up and walking straight out of the room to prevent himself from any stupid actions, or throw himself into Erik's arms and confessing his love to him.

And Erik had been sitting there, green eyes sparkling and mischievous, and had won three games in a row. Charles had never been that bad at chess. And it had not been his biggest problem that evening.

Erik had of course sensed that something was up with him. It was obvious, so very obvious, and Charles wanted nothing more than to just tell him. But he couldn't, he didn't dare to.

Raven's encouraging smile appeared in his mind again.

And yet again, Charles had the urge to slam his head against the next wall. The situation was killing him.

Should it go on like this forever? He would never be able to stay in the same room as Erik without rotating from excitement. Never. What about their evenings with chess and scotch? He surely didn't want to miss them.

Charles rubbed his eyes with both hands. What if...

What if he told Erik, just straight forward –

What if he reciprocated his feelings. He would be the happiest man alive. Love was always complicated and troublesome, but with Erik... he would be worth the trouble. Charles pinched his nose. Not that this would be any likely to happen.

And what if he said no? Then he would have his answer and rule off his feelings. Could stop imagining and hoping and come to terms with it. He was mature enough to keep his distance and they could still be friends.

It would be the better option. So he could finally let the idea of a real relationship go, be free, start anew. He didn't need to ponder if it was useless to long after this man or not. It would be hard, it would be cruel, but it would – yet again - be worth it.

He kicked the idea around in his head for a little while. It was really hard to think rationally when it came to love matters.

However, it wasn't worth thinking about the way he could tell Erik. No matter how much he thought about how to put his feelings to words, Charles knew that he would have forgotten about them as soon as Erik looked into his eyes.

Charles got to his feet and left the room, seeking for his heart to be broken.

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><p>Erik changed into his pajamas and went to bed.<p>

The look on Charles' face wouldn't leave his mind, though. That mixture between confusion and – if he didn't know any better, he would have called it 'longing'. It wouldn't have needed much more and he would have kissed Charles right there.

Sighing, he turned off the light and slipped underneath the sheets of his bed, staring to the ceiling.

His usual fantasy was becoming more and more intense with every time it bugged him. And today, it was nearly driving him insane. If Charles would knock at his door, in the middle of the night... and the moment Erik opened the door, he would come in, kiss him passionately, push him backwards onto the bed, and without the need of any explanation or declaration, they would make love for the rest of the night. Erik had had sex in his life plenty of times, but he only made love to very few persons.

Charles would be the kind of person he would only make love to.

On the other hand, Erik also knew that this was never going to happen. He had sworn to himself long ago that he would never commit to a relationship again. His point was clear. So he had to bury his desires inside and learn to live with them.

Suddenly, a soft, quiet knock on his door startled him. Erik felt his heart literally skip a beat.

_It's me, Erik. Please open the door,_ he heard Charles' voice in his head. And his heart almost stopped beating again.

Quickly, the metalbender left the bed while opening the door with his powers.

„Charles," he whispered, still surprised, as he looked at the smaller man in the door frame. „What are you doing here? It's late."

Charles rubbed his eyes with the thumb and index finger of his right hand. „Yes, I know, I just... needed to clarify something, and I need your help with it."

„Sure, go on," Erik looked at his friend, who thoroughly avoided his gaze.

„I- how should I put this... I wanted to tell you that I... I developed certain feelings for you, over the past weeks," Charles whispered, obviously trying hard to hold his composure. „Well, probably months. And I can't stand it any more, I just need to tell you. I know that this is stupid and I apologize for all the trouble and everything, and I hope you forgive me. It just needed to be said. Fact is, is wish there was more between us than just a friendship."

Erik opened his mouth, but found no words to reply to Charles. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was speechless.

„... and I know this will never happen. I know this is just a crush, and on top of that: we're both men, so... I just wanted you to know and I wanted you to just tell me that I should forget about this. I know it won't be easy, neither for me nor for you, and again I apologize for that, but it would help me so much if you could just tell me that you're not in love with me and that it's all my imagination playing tricks on me... and I'm sorry, I'm rambling here. I hope you know what I mean."

Charles' voice had begun to shake with the last sentences, and Erik saw those wonderful blue eyes well up with tears. He felt a piercing pain in his heart. Charles was so brave, coming to him, confessing his love to him with just the intention of getting his heart ripped out and thrown to the floor. He wanted to hear nothing but a 'No'. Erik's chest clenched as he saw how much his friend was suffering.

„No, no, Charles, no need to apologize-"

„Yes, there is, and I'm very sorry to cause you all this trouble and this stupid situation. I hope we can still be friends. Act as if nothing had happened tomorrow morning, just, please, keep your distance and don't do things like... _that_ before, and I'll be just fine. Give me time. I don't want to loose you, never, and I hope we can overcome this..." he eventually broke into tears.

It was enough. Despite every single one of his intentions of never living in a committed relationship again, despite everything... he didn't want to hurt Charles, he had never wanted to, but right now, his friend suffered more than ever. Now it was Erik who couldn't stand it.

The metalbender cupped Charles' face with his left hand and wiped away the tears with his thumb. The other man still refused to look at him, eyes focused on a dark corner somewhere on the side of the hallway.

„Charles, please look at me," Erik softly turned his friend's face towards him, looking deep into his eyes. Charles sobbed silently, but finally his deep blue and now tear-stained eyes locked with Erik's.

The picture almost broke the taller mutant's heart, as he realized how much he indeed cared for the telepath. He couldn't resist any more, he needed to do it.

Erik slowly tilted Charles' chin upwards and bent down to kiss him, slowly and tentatively, a very chaste kiss that made Charles squirm immediately. But Erik wrapped his spare arm quickly around his waist, holding him in place firmly. Charles reciprocated the kiss carefully after a few more moments, grazed his lips softly along Erik's, before he finally managed to shove Erik away. He grasped for air.

„Please tell me you're just kidding," he chuckled bitterly, avoiding Erik's gaze once again.

Erik just smiled and pulled Charles into his room before the latter could protest. The door closed itself quickly – with a little help of Erik's power – and Charles found himself pressed against the wall next to it before he could blink.

„Does this feel like I'm kidding?" Erik asked back before their lips crashed onto each other's again. He kissed more fierce, more fervent this time, kissed Charles with all the passion that had built up for all these long weeks.

After a few more moments of Charles hesitating, he felt the telepath smile into the kiss, then beginning to chuckle. Erik pulled away, just to find Charles with the widest grin that he had ever seen on his face.

„You are crazy, my friend," the smaller man simply stated.

„Maybe," he answered, also grinning.

„You know how much trouble this means for us. I never wanted to bring personal feelings into this, but I just couldn't help myself..."

Erik let his fingertips run along the line of Charles' eyebrow, up his forehead and through his hair, caressing the sensitive skin lovingly. „Who says that, Charles. Who says love needs to be complicated? Who says it needs to be trouble? I don't, so why should we make it complicated?"

Charles smiled wordlessly at him, pondering about his words. „But there will always be people around us who'd want to make it hard for us. We can't prejudice them."

„So what. Not everybody needs to know. Saves us a lot to deal with. And apart from that – with you, all this trouble doesn't seem so... troublesome," Erik felt heat spread across his cheeks as he cleared his throat. Since when was he that romantic?

The telepath smiled widely at him and wrapped both of his arms around Erik's neck, pulling him down for another kiss. It literally took Erik's breath away with its intensity, which may also be caused by the fact that Charles was currently sharing his feelings through the mental link between them. There was so much love and desire there, more than Erik had ever hoped for.

Overwhelmed by his and Charles' feelings, Erik broke the kiss to look at his friend with clouded eyes. He just shook his head and smiled unbelievingly. „You know that after this, you'll never get rid of me again," he lurked.

Charles grinned. „I hope so. With you at my side, I feel like nothing can ever stop us in our way. And we'll find our way, together. No matter what happens."

„You and me against the world?" Erik laughed.

„Yes. You are not alone, my friend," the professor whispered lovingly.

„I know," the metalbender whispered back, before he lifted Charles up into mid-air and carried him to the bed.

He felt like being on cloud nine, and Erik just hoped that it wasn't a dream.

* * *

><p><strong>I'll leave you this little chapter before I'm off for the Summerbreeze-Festival – for the next 5 days. Sorry that I won't be able to write anything in this time. Hope you had fun reading! After this pretty serious chapter, I'll finally be able to write something humorous again. The boys still don't know who won the bet :o)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Now that the serious things are out of the way, let's have a (hopefully) funny and humorous chapter again. Sorry that I kept you waiting for the update for so long, but I was pretty busy. **

**I wanted to write a 'the-morning-after'-chapter for quite some time, so I was really happy to finally reach this point in the story. Inspirations for this one were clearly several videos (the love scenes from „The last station" and „Shameless", both from James McAvoy, as well as the one from „Fish Tank" with Michael Fassbender – besides, of course, a sh*tload of various AMVs). :)**

**Warnings: mild sexual content. You might like this :3**

* * *

><p>Charles woke up by the repeatedly peeping alarm clock on the bedside table. With an annoyed, quiet sigh, he reached over and shut it off. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, the professor tried to figure out what was going on.<p>

Training. Right. 6 o'clock was wake time in the morning. Charles remembered arguing with Erik about the waking call just yesterday -

Erik. Right.

With another short move, he switched the small lamp on that also stood on the bedside table before rolling over and taking a look at the other side of the bed. Erik lay there, snuggled into the sheets, and warily blinked into the light. His hair, messed up and curling into his face, made him look all the more bleary.

„How late is it?" Erik prepped himself up on his elbows, yawning, and looked downright adorable while doing so. Charles smiled and let his hand run through his own messed-up hair.

„6 o'clock, time to stand up," the telepath answered softly, „Time for training!"

„Oh god, why was I so determined to make it 6 o'clock," Erik sighed, but smiled back tiredly before letting himself fall back into the pillows.

Considering they had spent most of the night catching up what they had been missing out throughout the past weeks and months, it was no surprise that they both were tired as hell. Charles wondered if he even had had three hours of sleep.

But Erik had been worth every single second of staying awake. They hadn't needed much words. Their lips onto each other's told more than words could anyway.

And so did the gaze he received by his friend – _boyfriend_, he corrected himself and smiled silently – right now. Though still clouded and sleepy, the glance in Erik's eyes was loving as he bent sideways to kiss Charles.

„Here's your proper 'Good-morning-kiss'."

The telepath rolled his eyes theatrically. „Relationship rituals? Oh god, we're like and old married couple already." He grinned.

„As for the 'married'-part – never going to happen," Erik answered, lips torn to an impish smirk, „and as for the 'couple'-part – as long as we don't start using terms of endearment in front of the kids, what should be wrong with that?"

„You're right, _darling_," Charles teased.

Erik sighed. „Don't _darling_ me, I'm not a girl."

„Then give me something better than 'darling'. Maybe... a German term of endearment that only we understand, for example. Something only I am allowed to call you."

The metalbender stared at the ceiling, obviously pondering about his answer. After a little while, he turned his head towards Charles and smiled. „_Schatz_ is perfect."

Charles blinked. „What does it mean?"

„Literally, it means 'treasure'."

„That's sweet! I think I could live with that. _Schatz_." He spoke it out several times to get used to the harsh ending of the word, with Erik correcting him several times after laughing loudly at his first attempts.

As they had calmed down a bit, Erik raised his hand to Charles' cheek, and slowly let his thumb run across it. „_'Schatz' passt sogar sehr gut, denn du bist der größte Schatz, den ich in meinem Leben je gefunden habe,_" he said softly. )*

Charles didn't understand what he had said, but the meaning of those words was pretty clear by Erik's tone. _Must have been something so romantic he would never have spoken it out in English, _he thought amused. Charles smiled happily back at the other man, who bent over to kiss him again.

Wrapping their arms around each other's bodies, they enjoyed the last minutes that remained of this wonderful, so revealing night. As Charles snuggled into Erik's chest, he felt the latter bend down and whisper in his ear: „When we're in bed, you can call me _mein Herr und Meister_!"

Charles glanced upwards at him, a smug smile on his face. This time, he had glimpsed into the other mutant's mind, and immediately known what the expression meant.

„You'd wish! '_Lord and Master',_ pffw," he snorted and quickly rolled onto Erik's body, pinning him down onto the pillows. „You won't get me to the... passive part that easily. I'm just as much a man as you are."

„Believe me, I've been very aware of that fact for the past months," Erik winked, but his mouth was drawn to a barely noticeable bitter expression.

Charles startled and shot him a confused glare. „Months? How long... exactly... have you known? How did you know, actually?"

„Do you want the wonderfully romantic answer or the true answer?" the metalbender asked back, the smile now turning to mischievous.

„Let me hear the 'wonderfully romantic' one first!" Charles was excited what Erik would come up with.

„When you pulled me out of the water and the moonshine fell down on you as I looked into your hypnotic blue eyes for the very first time-"

„Okay, okay, stop it. Definitely enough," Charles chuckled. „And what's the true answer, then?"

Erik watched him blandly. Although he was smiling, his gaze went right through the telepath. Then he cleared his throat. „Fact is, I don't know. But... I know of another very revealing tuesday, where I lay in my bed at night, in my room back at the CIA quarters... Let's put it like this: I was doing what a man does when he's alone. And all I could think of while doing so - was you. It was painfully obvious what was up with me." The metalbender avoided his gaze, obviously embarrassed.

Charles felt the heat rush through his body at this confession. He had always worried about his feelings, about the relationship that was impossible for them to lead and about Erik's opinion on all this. Of course, once he had realized he was in love with Erik, he had thought about the sexual side of it all as well, but had put the thought aside quickly. Charles had told himself that they would never get that far, and even if they did, he had enough time to think about that when it happened.

Well, that moment had just happened. Charles bent down and pressed his lips hard against Erik's, kissing him fervently and passionately. He didn't think about anything right now, he just followed where his feelings guided him.

Erik had been right, it could be that easy.

And just like that, the other man responded to his kiss the same way. As a soft tongue ran along his lips, Charles drew his breath in sharply – an opportunity that Erik didn't want to go by unused. His tongue slipped into Charles' mouth, playing and swirling around the other one's. The telepath was once again very aware of the blood rushing through his veins, especially where it rushed to.

Suddenly, Erik broke the kiss and a mischievous leer spread over his handsome face. „You really manage to get someone awake in the morning," he laughed.

And Charles grasped for air as he felt the other man's knee being pressed between his legs, creating a delicate friction there. He kissed Erik in response, teased him with soft bites at his lower lip, with tentative licks of his tongue – which earned him several moans from the metalbender. Charles let his hands run down Erik's naked upper body, admiring the trained muscles there-

A knock at the door. „Erik?" And Hank's voice.

Charles looked at Erik in shock, mouthing „What should we do?" to him.

Erik just shrugged his shoulders and answered after a few moments of rubbing his eyes, pondering. „Yes, I'm-"

The door opened, and Hank poked his head through the door frame. „Oh, sorry! I didn't hear you-" The scientists gaze fell onto Charles, bare-chested and still laying on top of Erik. „Oh! Oh- sorry I... I didn't want to disturb you... I'll see you at breakfast. I'm sorry!"

The door was closed with an energetic move.

„Oh god," Charles just said. He placed his index and middle finger to his temple and took a look at Hank's thoughts, who was currently walking down the hallway. His assumption was confirmed. „He's pondering if he should tell the others."

„Can't you tell him not to? That this is our concern?"

Charles silently concentrated on Hank again. _Please, Hank, don't tell anyone about us. We want at least to tell them ourselves. I think you understand, right?_

Much to his relief, he felt Hank's agreement.

„He won't tell them," Charles informed Erik. „But we're already late, that's true, so we should really get to breakfast."

The metalbender wrapped his arms around Charles' neck and pulled him down, placing another long kiss onto his lips. „Yes, we should, but..." Another smirk.

„But?" Charles grinned back.

And grasped again for air as Erik's hand ran down his back and slipped between their bodies. Between his legs.

„But let me first take care of this," Erik whispered into his ear, his voice deep and husky.

Charles shivered with bliss.

* * *

><p>Raven knew that something was wrong. Wonderfully wrong. Or terribly right? She shook her head, it didn't matter.<p>

Fact was, Charles was flustered like a teenage girl and overly joyful at this early time in the morning. Plus, he had been late for breakfast for a whole hour. As well as Erik. And whenever the two of them looked at each other, she could definitely feel that something was going on.

They couldn't be any more obvious.

The boys didn't seem to care, though. Hank had been very quiet since she had sent him to look for Erik and Charles, and Alex and Sean were both way too tired to even tease each other. They just stared blandly into their cereal bowls.

Apart from the breakfast being very awkward, the time didn't want to go by. Raven wanted to talk to Charles in private. She was curious what had been going on with Erik.

Yet again, the two men exchanged a happily gleaming smile. Though they sat in their usual seats, it seemed that they sat closer to each other, Raven mused.

Suddenly, Charles' facial expression became questioning, and she noticed a small nod by Erik in response. If there hadn't been a telepathic question, she'd eat her hat.

Both men looked at the group of younger mutants as Charles began: „Kids, there is something we need to tell you. And I think we are all mature enough to handle this, okay?"

Alex and Sean looked up from their plates, waiting anticipated.

Raven grinned widely.

And Hank had found his voice again. „What is it?" he asked with a siamese smile.

„We'd like to inform you that..." Erik hesitated, searching for the right words.

Charles quickly helped him out by taking his hand, which Erik had rested beside his plate. „In a nutshell: We are a couple. Not everybody needs to know, but as we can't keep it a secret from you..." The professor shot a perfidious look at Hank.

_So he had caught them before, _Raven thought amused and just grinned some more.

Sean turned his head towards Alex and stared at him, open-mouthed and speechless.

"And I thought you were telling us that you're getting a divorce," Alex teased them, which earned him a raised eyebrow and a smirk from Erik.

„I'm really happy for you, congratulations," Hank said simply, smiling happily at his mentors.

Charles' eyes met Raven's, and she simply smiled lovingly at him. „Well done, big brother."

„Thanks, I-"

„Sorry, professor, but who was it? Who confessed?"

„Sean, if I haven't told you already: Betting on someone's personal luck isn't nice," Charles rebuked him.

But Erik stabbed him in the back with three little words. „He was it," he answered parenthetically to Sean, pointing at Charles, whose face became deep red as he poked Erik.

Alex just held his hand towards Sean. "Ha!" he said before grinning and turning to Charles. "Professor, I always believed in you!"

Charles covered his face in both hands. Erik simply laughed as he wrapped his arm around the other man's shoulders.

_Mission accomplished,_ Raven thought to herself, laughing loudly.

* * *

><p><strong> )* Translation: "'Treasure' fits very well, because you are indeed the greatest treasure I've ever found in my life.<strong>"

**Okay, there's still one chapter to go, could be considered an epilogue. A bit more serious than this one, though.**

**So, was the chapter worth the wait? :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Epilogue**

**Like I said: this chapter probably gets a bit more serious as the subject will be the infamous beach scene. Here is my alternate ending to the movie! Erik may be a bit OoC here, I hope you can bear that. ;)**

**Disclaimers: Spoilers for the movie, of course. (Well, at first.) I suppose you all have seen it, otherwise you won't read this fic. :D Who is going to buy the DVD? :3 (For me, it'll be the BluRay 8D)**

* * *

><p>The missiles came to an abrupt halt in mid-air as Erik raised his hand towards them. Slowly, they turned around and faced the ships they had been launched from.<p>

„Erik," the metalbender heard his friend's insistent voice behind him. „Please don't! There are thousands of men out there-"

„- who obviously want to kill us," Erik finished Charles' sentence, clenching his jaw. „We can finish this, once and for all, right now."

„If you do this, it will only be the beginning. Hasn't enough damage been done already? Shaw is dead and that's what you wanted," Charles voice seemed fragile as he begged.

„They-" Erik nodded at the ships, „don't want us to integrate in their world, Charles, not as much as you do. There will always be problems and trouble."

Charles looked to the ground and shook his head. „If you blast those ships away with the missiles, it won't be a solution at all. There will always be people around us, be they humans or mutants, it doesn't matter, who won't accept us. Yes, there will always be problems and trouble, but we can limit it to a minimum, and it's a needless waste of human resources if you blow up everything out there. And haven't we suffered enough already?"

And suddenly, it fell like scales from Erik's eyes. Charles had felt it all, the coin moving through Shaw's head, he had suffered all the pain - only because of him. He had never wanted Charles to endure pain because of him, and yet, in this moment of selfishness, driven by rage, he hadn't cared. Hadn't cared at all about the man he loved.

The look in Charles' eyes, the worry and the pain and the desperation in those beautiful blue orbs made his chest clench. It was just like that one night the telepath had knocked at his door, confessing his love for him. He couldn't stand this.

Charles was hurt, deeply hurt by Erik's behavior. His heart literally ached at the picture of Charles, standing there, crestfallen. He had killed a man, not considering that his friend, his beloved, would have to suffer innocently in Shaw's place. There was a lot he'd have to make up for. And although they had been seeing each other for weeks and months now, Erik realized that he had never even once told Charles about his feelings for him.

„Is there a solution at all? Is there something in between?" Erik asked Charles, his stern gaze softening.

„I'm sure that we have the opportunity to find out," the professor answered, holding his gaze. „You and me against the world, my friend," he added quietly, his lips drawn to a bitter expression. The last sentence was more a reproach than a reminder.

The helmet was heavy as he lifted it off his head and tossed it into the sand. The missiles exploded in mid-air, where he had released them from his power as he turned around, taking one step after the other towards Charles.

One by one, he would make it up to him.

For a start, Erik wrapped his arms around Charles and pulled him close. He felt the other one's resentment and rejection, which was completely understandable. Yet he still managed to bend down to Charles' ear, whispering: „I'm sorry. I'm so very, very sorry about what I did to you. I don't know how I can make it up to you, but if there's any possibility... I will do everything. I love you, Charles."

The telepath shoved him away, softly though, and looked into his eyes. His lips didn't move as Erik heard Charles' voice in his head again.

_What was your moment of serenity, Erik, when you lifted the submarine?_

Erik didn't need to think about it. It was the one moment of complete and utter happiness – the moment he had pulled Charles into his room and into his arms, kissing him lovingly and being kissed with all the passion he had hoped for. The moment he was convinced that everything would turn out perfect, that with Charles at his side, nothing could happen to him. To them.

Yet, it had.

As Erik's eyes found Charles' again, he noticed tears welling up in the latter's - but a smile had spread on his lips again.

„I love you, too, Erik," the telepath said quietly, his voice merely louder than the sound of the waves crushing onto the warm sand. He softly cupped Erik's face in his hands before he pulled him down and kissed him on his lips. Neither one of them cared that everybody else on the beach saw it.

Charles broke the kiss way to soon. Erik watched him reluctantly as he wound himself out of his arms. „We will work this out, I promise."

„Promise," Erik confirmed and nodded shortly.

Both of them turned around towards their fellow mutants. While Raven and the boys seemed to be very happy about the outcome of the previous events, Shaw's mutants still were speechless.

Charles raised his voice to all of them. „Now that the world knows about us, we need to stand together. We also really need to get away from here – and you," he turned towards Shaw's mutants, „are invited to join us, if you proof yourself trustworthy."

„Why should we follow you?" Azazel asked suspiciously.

„Because what we will build will be an alliance of all mutants around the world, including a school for gifted children, and an association every mutant can trust in – independent from the CIA or any human government," Erik answered. „Everyone of you knows that Charles and I have different opinions on how to deal with the humans and their leadership. The times won't get easier, that's for sure, but we can make the best of it. We'll work this out and we'll find our way, together."

Silence spread between the mutants on the beach. Riptide, Azazel and Angel put their heads together, discussing their options.

To make a start, Erik took a step towards Charles, closing the gap between them and taking his hand. Charles nudged it softly. „Thank you," he whispered, smiling. Erik returned the smile.

Alex, Sean, Hank and Raven quickly stood at their sides. After a little while, Shaw's mutants also joined them, still mistrustful, but at least they took the chance they were given.

„Well then, take us away from here," Erik appealed to Azazel.

* * *

><p>It was a lazy Saturday afternoon in April of the year 1969. The mansion was quiet, for once, because Sean and Alex had made a trip to town, while Raven and Hank had decided to spend the day in their room. <em>God knows what they're doing<em>, Charles thought amused, but he honestly didn't want to know. Most of his pupils were at their parent's home and the few that had stayed in the mansion during the holidays spent the days with each other or used the time to learn for their exams.

The spring sun was shining warm from the sky. Charles had taken a rest under a huge oak tree, reading a book as he enjoyed the first rays of sunlight of this year. The peaceful garden was a perfect place to rest.

Suddenly, the professor noticed from the corner of his eye that the entrance door of the mansion was opened and closed. A tall, dark figure stepped outside, and Charles didn't even need to recognize the typical black turtleneck to know it was Erik. The metalbender slowly made his way along the gravel paths toward him, and Charles watched him over the corner of his book, pretending to read.

The grace of his walk, the way his narrow hips swung with every step and those broad shoulders moved contrariwise made his stomach tingle. Seven years had passed, and yet, the attraction towards the other man hadn't faded a little bit. Charles smiled to himself anticipated and hid his face once again behind his book.

As Erik closed the remaining gap between them with a few steps, Charles closed his book and looked upwards, meeting his boyfriend's gaze. Erik smiled.

„What are you reading? Genetics stuff?"

„No, Erik, no 'genetics stuff'," Charles rolled his eyes, but grinned. „Actually, it's a fantasy novel."

Erik took the book from his hands, reading the title aloud. „_'The Lord of the Rings'_. A-ha. Is it good?"

„Yes, it is. You should give it a try when you find the time. And after I'm finished with it, of course."

The metalbender laughed and handed the book back to Charles. „Actually, there's something I'd like _you_ to give a try," he held his hand out towards the telepath. „Would you mind coming with me?"

Charles gratefully accepted the stretched-out hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. „Sure not!"

As he followed Erik back to the mansion, he felt the latter wrap his arm around his waist. This was something he really enjoyed, because they never showed their affection for each other in public or in front of the youngsters. Of course it was widely known among the students that they were more than just friends, but – it was a school for mutants, a school for kids that depended on the majority of humans tolerating them. So it came in handy that they could start with tolerating their own kind.

The professor gladly placed his arm around Erik's waist respectively, enjoying the intimate touch in an open place like this. But all too quickly, they had reached the entrance door, and subsequently the basement. Erik led him through familiar corridors, until they reached the newly-built Cerebro.

„I think I found the relay that caused the malfunction last time," Erik explained as Charles took his position on the small platform, pulling the weird-looking helmet with the hundreds of cables attached to it over his head. Last time they had tried, Cerebro had been too powerful, exceeding Charles' ability by multiple times, which they had noticed far too late. It had caused the telepath a serious headache – to the point where he had spent the next three days in bed, with the curtains tightly shut.

„And if anything like last time happens, I also built in an emergency-cutout-trigger right here," Erik pointed at a big, red switch on the control board. „Try to focus on me, when I engage Cerebro."

„Yes, I know what we were talking about yesterday, but thanks for reminding me," Charles winked, resting his hands at the half-circle railing around his circular platform.

„Are you ready?" Erik asked, worry and concern in his eyes. He was obviously still horrified about what happened the last time they tried to run the gigantic hardware.

Charles' eyes rested reassuringly on Erik's, until the very last moment when he slowly closed his eyes and breathed in and out deeply. The professor had a very sudden deja-vú, back to when he first had used the small Cerebro at the CIA. Erik had stood in front of him just like now, with the same wrinkles of sorrow around his eyes. And all he had been able to do back then was watching Erik, longing for him – longing to touch him, to hug him, to kiss him. Maybe it wouldn't have ever been anything more if he hadn't found the courage to tell Erik about his feelings. Ever since, his life had been wonderful, thanks to the metalbender at his side.

„Yes, I am. Go."

It felt like someone smacked a hammer across his face as he felt his telepatic powers spreading. Spreading all over the country, over the continent, over the world. The professor saw them all, 'normal' humans, other mutants, but most of all, the strongest mental presence of all – the mutant who stood right in front of him.

With his powers enhanced by Cerebro like this, there was no option to avoid Erik's thoughts.

He didn't mind, though, because there was nothing more interesting than Erik's thoughts. Especially a very … intriguing scene that took place in Charles' bedroom. Charles felt his heart doubling its speed as the blood rushed through his veins. In a state like this, he wasn't able to handle Cerebro.

„Shut down," Charles told Erik, who obeyed immediately.

„What's wrong? Did it hurt again?" the other man asked worriedly.

„No, it didn't. I just couldn't concentrate."

„Why is that?" Erik seemed confused.

„You distracted me," Charles smirked, „ and I couldn't look away. Maybe we should limit the power Cerebro creates a bit more. Otherwise, I won't be able to look at people that are beyond this very room."

Erik laughed. „I distracted you, seriously?"

„Of course. You always do," Charles grinned widely as he left the podium and joined the other man at the console of Cerebro. „Anyway, so now it works. Fine, very fine."

That one day on the beach had been bitter, Charles mused. But they had found their way – although Erik's opinions often were pretty straight forward radical and Charles' mostly were too diplomatic and appealing to people's good will. Due to the fact that they always considered both of their opinions and tried to find a decent compromise, the solutions for any kind of problem that had occurred so far had always turned out nearly perfect. Erik and Charles were representing the perfect mixture. And now, even the population was beginning to trust, respect and tolerate mutants.

The school for gifted youngsters was very well-visited and everything went just fine.

Charles often pondered about what would have happened if Erik had fired the missiles back at the ships. The Russians and the Americans would have teamed up together to hunt them down – maybe even starting a civil war. World War III had in fact been an option in those days.

Maybe they would have died on that beach. Maybe one or both of them would have taken a serious injury whatsoever. Maybe they would have broken up and never seen each other again. Who knew, but Charles didn't even want to think about the latter considerations.

Luckily, none of that had happened.

So he just wrapped his arms around Erik's broad shoulders and pulled him down for a loving kiss. „Well done, _Schatz_," Charles said softly.

„Thank you," Erik smiled and kissed him, long and passionately - a kiss that took Charles' breath away. The professor grasped for air when he broke it after a few wonderful minutes.

Erik watched him with clouded, beautiful green eyes. „Chess?"

„Yes," Charles answered and smirked widely. „'_Chess_'. Here or in our room?"

The metalbender shoved him up against the nearest wall. The clicking sound of the door lock was heard as Erik twisted his hand shortly.

* * *

><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

**Wow, so I seriously f*cked up every single one of the Marvel continuities with this xD And it was a pleasure to do it! :D**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you had fun with this story – I had at least fun writing it. Let me know what you thought of the final chapter, I would be very happy for a final review :) **

**See you soon!**


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